Envelop moistening and sealing device.



No. 734,850. PATENTED JULY 28, 1903.

A. & B. GOLDSTEIN.

ENVELOP MOISTENING AND lSEALING DEVICE.

Y APPLIUATION `FILED MAY 27, 1903.

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Patented July 28, 1903i- A i g VUNTTED l STATES a PATENT OFFICE.

.ABRAHAM eoLDsTEiN AND BARNETreoLDsTEIN, or PATToN, PENNSYLVANIA.

ENVELOP MolsTENlNG AND sr-:ALING` DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 734,850, dated July28, 1903.

i i Application filed May-27, 1903. Serial No. 158,933. i (llo model.)

`To all whom/it zitayconcernr Be it known thatwe, ABRAHAM GoLDsrErN andBARNETT GoLDsTEIN, citizens of the UnitedStates, and residents ofPatton, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, haveinventednew and useful Improvements in Envelop Moistening and SealingDevices, p

of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. y Thepurpose of the invention is to provide a simple, durable, and economicdevice espe* cially adapted `for moistening the gummed portion ofthesealing-iiap of an envelop and for effecting a closure of such moistenedflap upon the body `of the envelop, and, further, to provide a'hollowcylindrical body or -roller for such purpose vadapted to contain liquidand one or more absorbent pads exposed at `the exterior of the roller,which pads are held co, in communication with the liquid contents of theroller. y

. A further purpose of the invention is to provide a handled pivotedbail for the roller and i springs at the pivotalends of the bail, whichsprings are alternately placed under tension as-the` roller is operatedin one or 'the ,other direction, whereby after operation in moisteningfor. sealing `the roller is restored toits normal position, since theroller is raised 's 3Q after each of such operations.

The invention 4consists in the novel con.-

struction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafterfully set forth,

and pointedout in the claims.-

in which similar characters of reference indi# cate corresponding partsin all the iigures.

a y Figure 1isa perspective view of the device, 1 4o illustratingitsapplication to the envelop to moisten themucilagedsurfaceofthesealinge' iiap.' Fig. 2 is a sectional end view of the` device.Fig. 3 is an end view of the roller,

s showing it operated in two positions-first, to

. 5o in position to eect a closure of the moistened iiap.

10, properly secured therein.

Reference is tobe had` to the accompanying j drawings, forming a part ofthisspecification,`

V A represents the body ofthe device, which .isvin cylindrical or rollerform and may be made of any suitable materialtin or sheet metal of 4anydescription, including aluminium-and the roller isprovided with heads Inone head an aperture is made, normally closed by a plug or cap 11,through whichlapertur'e liquid, preferablywater, is `supplied to theinterior of the roller.

The roller is provided between its ends with two pairs B and B of slots12 and .13. These slots are curved more or less and are concentric, andthe slots of each pair are moresor less spirally placed, extending vfromVhave an arched formation, as is illustrated inFig. 1. The slots 12 and13 of each pair B and Bare at suitable distances apart, as s best shownin Fig. 2.

Preferably while the body portion of the roller A is in its flat state,at which time the slots 12 and 13 are produced therein, pads 15 ofabsorbent material are located at the back of the body of the roller, soas to occupy prin cipally an inner position within the complete roller,as is shownin Fig. 4. These absorbent pads 15 are passed outward, forexample, through the upper slots 12 andare returned inwardly throughthe'` lower slots 13, thus causing sections of the said pads to beexposed at :the bridge portions of the roller A between the slots 12 and13, as is shown inFigs. 1 and 2. The pads 15 are held in position bymeans of Vrods or wires 16,1whichfollow the lines of the slots 12and-13, as isshown inIFig. 4, and are attached by solder 17 orequivalent material to the inner face ofthe bridge por tion 14. betweenthe pairs B and B of "slots, and also by solder 18 or equivalent means,to the inner face of the, body A of the roller at points near the endsof said roller, as is shown also in Fig. 4.

A bail 19 is employed the ends whereof are bent at 20 horizontally andterminate' in eyes 20, which loosely receive trunnions 20", centrallysecured to the edges of the roller; and

the said bail 19, centrally between its ends, is provided with a handle21, attached thereto in any suitable or approved manner. Finally,springs 22 are coiled around the trunnions or pivotal sections 2Ob ofthe cylinder-heads,and the ends of the springs 22 are made `to bearagainst pins 22 and 22, secured to the heads of the roller,while theother end of each spring is properly attached to a side member of thebail 19, as is indicated in Figs. 1, 2, and 4. The springs bear againstopposite sides of the pins 22a andv 22h, the bearings being such thatwhen the roller A is moved forward the righthand spring is placed undertension and when the roller is moved backward the left-hand spring iswound up.

The envelop C is laid upon a suitable support back upward and with thesealing-flap Cin more or less of avertical position to expose the gummedsurface c, as is shown in Fig. 5. supplied witha suitable quantity ofliquid, the pads l5 become moistened and remain moistened as long asliquid is contained in said roller. 'lhe roller is then placed on thebody of the envelop, as is shown in Fig. l, with the exposed portions ofthe pads 16 4more or less uppermost, as is shown in the same figure,whereupon the roller is pushed forward by means of the handle 21 untilthe exposed portions of the moistenedlpads 15 are brought in engagementwith the mucilaged portion c of the flap of the envelop with theformation of which mucilaged border of the sealing-hap the combinedcontour of the exposed portions of the moistening-pads more or lesscorrespond. When the roller is free from the flap of the envelop, theflap resumes its upper position. (Shown in Fig. 5.)

As the cylinder A is rolled forward to moisten the mucilaged portion ofthe sealing-flap C', the right-hand spring 22 is placed under tension,and after the moistening operation is completed the device is lifted upfrom the envelop, or a support upon which it is placed, and the saidspring, unwinding, restores the cylinder or roller A to its normalposition.

Next, as is shown in Fig. 5 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the roller isdrawn rearwardly over the moistened flap and the body of the envelop,causing the moistened sealing-flap C to uniformly adhere to the body ofthe envelop, and as the roller is carried in a rearward direction ortoward the operator the left-hand spring 22 is placed under tension; butthe -moment that the roller is again lifted from the envelop or thesupport upon which it is laid the roller isA restored to its normalposition, so that it is immediately in condition to be passed over asecond envelop to Iuoisten the gummed surface of its sealingap. p

The cylinder or roller A having been- Having thus described ourinvention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Adevice for moistening and sealing envelops, consisting of atensioncontrolled roller having an interior chamber for the reception ofa liquid, and absorbent pads located partially within and partiallywithout the said roller, the exposed portions ofthe absorbent padsappearing at the peripheral surface of the roller, as described.

A device for moistening envelops, consisting of roller having aninterior chamber for the reception of a liquid, and absorbent padslocated partially within and partially without the'said roller, theexposed portions ofthe absorbent pads appearing at the peripheralsurface of the roller, a bail for the roller, and springs connected withthe bail and roller, having tensile action in opposite directions, asset forth.

3. A device for moistening and sealing envelops, consisting of a roller,means for turning the said roller upon a support, the roller beingprovided with an interior chamber adapted to receive a liquid, and withexterior peripheral slots arranged in pairs, the inner ends of the slotsof one pair approaching the corresponding ends of the slots of theopposing pair, and absorbent pads held within the said roller, portionsof which pads are carried upward through one slot of a pair and returnedinward through the fellow slot of a pair, as and for the purposedescribed.

4. A device for moistening and sealing envelops, or for similarpurposes, consisting of a hollow roller having means at its ends for theintroduction of a liquid, a spring-controlled bail for the said roller,the roller being provided with peripheral slots arranged in pairs, theslots of each pair having more or less of a spiral formation, the innerends of the slots of one pair approaching the corresponding ends of theslots of the opposing pair yet being separated therefrom, the two IOOpairs of combined slots representing substan- IIO

